The BreakUp
by Mayday Melisssa
Summary: What happens when you become the person you swore you'd never become?
1. Chapter 1

_mm. well, here is basically my crappy story.  
(c) all character belong to DC comics._

When you thought of a hero, you would think of him. A leader, the one everyone looked up to, someone to give you advice or rescue you or rescue the city.  
And if something went wrong, it would all go tumbling down on his shoulders. Sad fact, but it was the sad truth. But that was just the way Richard wanted it. He wanted to be the one people looked to in their time of need. He wanted to be the person that was always trying to save the day. It was his job. It was his heroin. And he was addicted.

"Friend," A soft voice just barely passed and seeped through the door that was obviously closed, as usual, and made it's way into Richard's ears, stiffening his back, "Friend you must come out and enjoy the movies of we watch at the nighttime."  
The voice was gentle, soft, calm, kind. Yet, irritating and causing him to loose track of what he was doing. The papers that were sprawled along his desk and just barely off the desk seemed to become nothing but blank papers. Blank newspapers with no articles. No headlines exclaiming the news that he had been searching for.

He simply sighed.  
"Not now." He tone was more bitter than sympathetic; something he wanted it to be so he wouldn't hurt her feelings, but it was just the way Richard was. Lying came easy with the big things, and with the little things, not so much. "Maybe later." He added, almost feeling the joy lift up her heart.  
"Later? Okay. Later. That is most wonderful!" She exclaimed now, and Richard knew that it was already weird with her having calling him 'friend' all the time. He knew they were both together more than that. But he just wanted to keep it under wraps. Why couldn't she just understand? Why couldn't anybody understand? Even he knew, the work-obsessed teenager he was, that in danger, she was the perfect key to his demise. He cared for her too much to let her get hurt when it ended up being **his** fault.

Her footsteps were not heard, but he could feel the wind that came in through the bottom crack of the door that she was floating, since walking was simply only for the people who didn't understand that she had this ability; sometimes it weirded people out. But Richard loved it; it was like she was an angel. His angel. His and his only.  
If only she could save him. Save him from the one thing that he feared the most in his entire life, the one thing that ate at him each and every day; himself.

She was gone now, that much he knew for certain, because her sniffling became softer and softer until he could hear it no more. The thing was, Richard would like nothing more than to follow her into the living room, sit down next to his friends and enjoy a good movie, but what would happen if he did?  
**He **could attack. That much he knew. That much he obsessed about. If Richard didn't worry, who would? Sure, his friends said they did as well, but when crunch time came and they were lying in coffins, what could Richard do? He had to protect them. It was his duty; it was his passion; it was his job; it was his life.  
And it slowly did age him. His dark, charcoal black hair grew shaggier and longer, and his dark, sapphire eyes grew more tired and darker, and he grew more taller; his features more adult-like than from his younger appearance.

Due to lack of interest, most of his Team members just simply shrugged. All Richard did was keep in his Study, only coming out to shower or eat or his only obligation; fight crime. But that was it. And the only person to question this was the only person Richard could feel deep emotions he couldn't even fathom. And she suffered for it dearly. When the door was shut in her face or when she got the simple reply of 'I'm Busy' she knew that it wasn't her fault.  
Still, the tears would come tumbling down and even she spent her time wishing **he** could just come out. But, at the same time, what would it accomplish?  
Richard was so bent on bringing **him** to justice, but what would happen after? Revenge wasn't the answer, she could repeat it to herself everyday of her life, but she could never get Richard to understand. He was intertwined with his own cold thirst for revenge and no one could stop him.

So the days would drift on, and she would occasionally knock on the door to get Richard to retire from his studies to perform normal teenage activities.  
"I'm busy." He grumbled solemnly, staring at the many faces that haunted every corner of his mind.  
She bit her lower lip. "Alright."  
Her tone was obviously not alright, but Richard was already glaring at the picture, almost hearing the menacing laughter sound off in his brain, echoing to every corner.

"What's wrong with you?" The velvety voice said with complete disgust, "I would've thought by now I would be in jail. I guess you're not the hero I thought you were."  
"I am a hero."  
"No, you're just like me."  
"I'm not a monster."  
"Accept your fate, Robin. Give in." The tone of his voice was alarmingly soothing, but Richard grabbed the picture, ripping it up violently into little pieces that floated gently to the ground.

"Does this make you feel like a man?"  
Richard thrashed through the papers and the pictures, tearing them viciously and throwing them wherever they fell.  
"You'll never be a man unless someone teaches you how."  
He took out his bo-staff, swinging the sliver stick into the large picture on the wall, only to leave a hole through the masked man's eye socket and through the wall.

He was breathing heavily as the voice was fading away back into his nightmares. It wasn't real, he repeated in his head, but he couldn't even trick himself to believe it. Slade was back. He had to be back. It was just too real to ignore.  
And no one even seemed to believe him, not that he tried to convince them too much.

Richard paced around the ruins of what used to be a cluttered little office, his heart thumping violently in his chest, wanting to burst out and scream.  
He let out a vicious yell and slammed his fists against the desk, the bits of paper flying around him when something caught his eye.  
'Keep Playing the Game and You'll Win'  
The words struck him so fast, he grabbed at his chest. There it was.


	2. Chapter 2

"At least he's out of the house," The voice was low, emotionless, and easily recognized as the dark side of the team. Raven was crossing her arms, her eyes almost fluorescent under the hood that it made the emerald boy next to her shift and shake softly; being out here in Jump City at night was just too creepy.  
"Yeah, but he basically stormed out of his cave and yelled that he had the answer." His voice was a little bit older than what it used to be, but still had a childish ring to it.  
"Friends, Robin has returned and has a way to stop the evilness that Slade is." Starfire's soft voice was in almost a shout-whisper, since she could barely hide her emotions from the excitement about to erupt from her. The only thing keeping her from wrapping her arms around the Boy Wonder was his rough attitude and persistence. She stared at his back and he continued to march through the city.

Cyborg on the other hand was still uneasy. Robin was unstable. He wasn't ready for this. The only person who seemed to believe him was probably not smart enough to even comprehend what 'unstable' was. And he wasn't going to use the blonde geomancer as an example around him.  
"So," He walked a little faster to catch up to the quiet crusader, "Any chance you gonna tell us the plan?"  
"Yeah dude. My feet are killing me and I'm pretty sure this trip could be easier in flight." Beast Boy whined.  
"We're almost there. Just don't worry about anything, alright?" Robin's voice was still making Cyborg uneasy, but he left it alone. He felt that one false move could set him off and have them stuff him in a straight jacket.

It was still silent and Beast Boy had to break the tension. Starfire and Raven were even on foot, and if Starfire didn't break the tension, he had to.  
"Any chance this has to do with the Phantom of the Menace?"  
He was lucky Robin didn't get the joke. But he was unlucky Raven had to elaborate.  
"Does Slade have anything to do with it, Robin?" She asked, suddenly floating next to him, the wind almost chilling the olive-skinned boy making him just as uneasy as his metal-bodied friend.

"You'll see when we get there." Robin answered after another moment of silence. Of course, that's not the plan he was having in mind. He would take Slade down himself. The Team could handle the henchmen, but he wanted Slade himself. He wanted to toss him in jail and watch him regret the decisions he had made. He wanted him to murmur his name from time to time, mumbling how much he wished he had changed before he met him. He wanted to show everyone he wasn't just some side-kick, no; he was much more than that.  
"When _will_ we get there?" Beast Boy had to ask, seeing as the conversation ended without a true answer. He knew that if he didn't ask, no one would.  
"Just be patient." Robin glared, but didn't face Beast Boy to show him that he was. Just calm your temper, Dick. Take it down a notch.  
"We've been patient for three hours, man." Cyborg stopped mid-walk, Raven and Beast Boy doing the same after a moment; but Robin didn't stop and Starfire continued to follow.  
"Just trust me." He didn't stop walking to even look at them, and that just set them off. This wasn't just a stupid little kid-mission, this was serious. And they didn't have time to just wait around and beg for answers. Robin didn't have the answers to explain all of this, and he honestly could've done it better alone. The only reason they were here was because of the fact if he left, it would cause suspicion. This way, he could occupy them as he went in for the kill.

Kill.  
Would he even kill anybody if he had the chance to kill him, would he?  
Shoving that thought out of his head, he realized that he had stopped and continued on walking, lost in his own mind and train of thoughts.  
"What is up with him?"  
"Just don't say anything."  
"He'll follow through."  
"He always does."  
"I hope he does."

He could hear them, but he was too intertwined with the paralyzing question that it didn't matter. His teammates didn't know what he was suffering, what he was trying to fathom in his mind, what he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't a monster . Because if he killed Slade, he would be just like him, and it would only prove what he had been saying.  
_Just like me. _  
"Are you okay?" Raven's hand rested softly on his shoulder, causing him to shirk away. She could find out more if she wanted to, and he didn't want to share.  
"Fine," He grumbled, "Just fine. I'm fine. I'm okay." He said a little too quickly, feeling her dark eyes still on him, finally sighing deeply and turning to the rest of the team, who had slowly began to keep up the pace.  
Words were just words, and needles to say, they were not convinced.


End file.
